A Geometrical Analysis of the Layout of Acaya, Italy

The analysis of the urban fabric contained within
the city walls of the town of Acaya, made possible by a new
integrated survey involving manual, topographical,
photogrammetric and 3D laserscan techniques, has cast
doubts on the conventional attribution of the city layout to
Gian Giacomo dell’Acaya. A rectangular layout consisting of
six blocks divided by six longitudinal streets and three lateral
streets is indicative of a medieval date. The geometrical
analysis shows how the site of the ancient town of Salappya
was transformed by Charles I d’Anjou in 1273, renaming it
Segine, and how, in about 1500, Alfonso dell’Acaya enlarged
the city and its walls according to the same proportional
criteria. In 1536 Gian Giacomo dell’Acaya succeeded his
father as Baron, redesigning the city walls in order to make
them suitable lines of defense against firearms, renaming the
city Acaya.